There are no applications related to this application filed in this or any foreign country.
Unfortunately, it is common for the owner of an automobile to, at some time or another, lock the keys inside the car. And while locksmiths are able to open locked car doors, the ease with which the task can be performed depends not only on the skill of the locksmith, but also in large measure on the design of the tools available.
A first task in opening the door is to separate the wiper from the glass sufficiently for entry of a conventional locksmith""s probing tool. The wiper is a rubber or rubber-like strip of material on either side of the car window at the top of the door. The wiper prevents water from entering the door while the window is rolled up, and as the window is rolled down, wipes water droplets from the surface of the glass. Unfortunately, while a tight fit between wiper and window is consistent with a weather-tight seal and with general security, it is inconsistent with the need of the locksmith to extend conventional probing tools into the car door.
As a result, tools have been developed to separate the wiper from the window, thereby allowing entry of tools designed to release the door lock. Such tools are generally known as wedges, having a tapered blade which separates the wiper from the window. As the wedge is further inserted, the thickness of the wedge further separates the wiper and window, allowing access for unlocking tools.
One such wedge tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,094, issued to Womack in 1992. Unfortunately, in many applications, the tapered end of such wedge tools have tended to slide along the surface of the glass window until contact is made with the frame surrounding the lower edge of the glass, and the wedge becomes stuck. Depending on the geometry of the wedge, window and frame, further insertion is typically not possible.
A related difficulty is that due to the general similarity of the shape of the window and the wedge, the wedge cannot be rocked or pivoted against the glass, thereby providing additional control over the separation of the wiper from the glass surface of the window.
A still further difficulty with prior art wedges is that they are solid in construction; i.e. they do not provide a slot or channel defined through the wedge through which the user may look to view the structures within the door of the car or support a flashlight to illuminate the door cavity.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a locksmith""s wedge for opening vehicle doors that can is easily inserted past the frame surrounding the lower edge of the glass pane of the vehicle""s window, and that may be pivoted slightly against the glass surface of the vehicle""s window in a manner that moves the wiper slightly, and that defines a channel through which the locksmith may view structures within the car""s door or support a flashlight to illuminate the interior of the door cavity.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus that satisfies the above needs. A novel locksmith""s wedge for opening automobile doors is disclosed that can easily be inserted past the frame surrounding the lower edge of the glass pane of the car""s window, and that may be pivoted slightly against the glass surface of the car""s window in a manner that moves the wiper slightly, and that defines a channel through which the user may view structures within the car""s door or support a flashlight to illuminate the door cavity.
The locksmith""s wedge 10 for opening vehicle doors of the present invention provides some or all of the following structures.
(A) A tapered lower body 20, sized to slide between the outer wiper 101 and the outer surface of the vehicle""s window 200, thereby separating the outer wiper from the vehicle""s window to form a gap 105. A preferred tapered lower body includes:
(a) A lower edge 21 formed by the intersection of two surfaces, resulting in a sufficiently sharp wedge- or chisel-type edge to easily separate the outer wiper from the window surface.
(b) A slightly ramped surface 22 intersecting with the parabolic inner surface 80 form the lower edge 21.
(c) A generally parabolic blade surface 23, adjacent to the slightly ramped surface 22, increases slightly in distance from the parabolic inner surface as the distance from the lower edge increases.
(B) A channelized upper body 40 is adjacent to a shoulder 42 defined on an upper portion of the generally parabolic blade surface 23. First and second sides of the channelized upper body support first and second opposed sidewalls 60, in a manner defining a channel through the upper body 40.
(C) First and second tapered side surfaces 90 extend the length of the locksmith""s wedge, adjacent to first and second lengthwise sides of the generally parabolic blade surface. The first and second tapered side surfaces taper from a widest extent adjacent to the top 46 of the channelized upper body 40 to a narrowest extent adjacent to the lower edge 21.
(D) A parabolic inner surface 80, between the first and second tapered side surfaces, extends the length of the locksmith""s wedge.
It is therefore a primary advantage of the present invention to provide a novel locksmith""s wedge for opening vehicle doors having a taper precisely calculated to slide between wiper and window and a curved shape which allows superior control over the position of the wedge and the distance by which the wiper is separated from the window.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a locksmith""s wedge for opening vehicle doors that is easily and inexpensively manufactured, and that is adaptable for use in a wide variety of cars and trucks.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide a locksmith""s wedge for opening vehicle doors that includes an upper body having a channel defined in the upper body within which the locksmith may support a small flashlight to illuminate the vehicle""s door""s interior cavity.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the specification and the accompanying drawings.